Conventionally, a navigation system that executes various processes based on map data in a storage medium is, for example, capable of updating the map data in the storage medium by acquiring a newer version of the map data through a communication with an external resource. In this manner, the usability of map data utilization apparatus including the navigation system is improved.
Japanese patent document JP-A-2003-315054 discloses a navigation system that updates map data by receiving a newer version of the map data of a predetermined area from an external data center for an update of a map in an area-by-area manner. The acquisition of the map data is performed by sending a map data delivery request for an update area of the map to the data center based on a user operation on an operation terminal. The disclosure in the above document claims that the map data acquisition time and cost are reduced in this manner.
The navigation system in the above patent document performs the map data update when a user performs by him/herself an operation that transmits the delivery request. Therefore, the map data stored in the navigation system is kept un-updated when the user does not transmit a request for a newer version of the map data despite of an issuance of the newer version of the map data. In addition, the user is not well informed of an update timing of the map data. As a result, the user has to frequently transmit the request for the latest version of the map data if he/she desires to maintain the map data of the navigation system in an up-to-date condition all the time. The frequent operation for transmitting a map data update request is nothing but inconvenient for the user.